In the end, Speirs and Nadeau emerged on top, securing their places in the final round of the $20K competition on Sept. 14. These ladies will be joined by Yulia Yanni of RealAtom and Meghan Buck of VEDA Data, the two semifinalists named in March.

This is the third year of pitch competitions hosted by the D.C. chapter of the Vinetta Project. Local co-directors Rebecca Yarbourgh and Anna Kohanski Mason are ecstatic for their chapter’s future. While Yarbourgh wasn’t quite ready to spill all the beans, she nonetheless said she remains “humbled by the support that the Vinetta founders, investors and community members have given our female founders as they take their startups to scale.”

“That support has continued to grow and we’re excited to see where it takes us in 2018,” she said.